An unusual winter so far.....
This really is panning out to be a rather unusual winter! With the lowest number of Bewick's swans recorded at Slimbridge since 1965 and with around 1,000 on the Ouse Washes when we might expect up to 5,000, we have been asking our network of dedicated swan observers across Europe about the situation in their respective countries. And we have a little more news to share. It was interesting to hear that the Netherlands is encountering a similar scenario to the UK. There appear to be no more than 4,800 Bewick’s wintering there at the moment which is quite incredible given that this country may hosts up to 13,000 swans every winter, a staggering 70% of the total Northwest European population (W. Tijsen). There are slightly higher numbers in Belgium (around 500 birds) and 500 swans in Denmark but this certainly doesn’t account for the remainder! So where are they?!
Given the mild temperatures, it will probably come as no surprise that many have stayed further east, mostly in Germany. Germany has been an important staging area for the Bewick’s swans since the 1950s with thousands stopping at sites, mainly in the Baltic region in the northeast, on autumn and spring migrations. In recent years, it has not been uncommon to see between 2,000-4,000 swans wintering in Germany. But preliminary counts indicate that there are at least 5,000 swans making the most of German hospitality this winter and there are certain to be many more as not all sites have been counted yet (A. Degen). We are waiting for further information on estimated numbers wintering there this season but it looks to be a bumper season for Germany if early indications are anything to go by.... And some swans have not even made it to Germany with around 300 remaining in Poland (M. Weiloch).
